Blendetta
by badwolfbay99
Summary: Thea's room is broken into late one night and when Barry discovers that a meta-human is involved, he and Oliver must work together to take her down before she causes havoc. Based just after the Invasion crossover event.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimers: I own absolutely nothing**

A Shadow slipped through a window high above the streets. Even though the moon was set into the dark sky the streets below still pulsed with life. The pale light projected the narrow shape across the empty room as the silhouette expertly manoeuvred her way around the vast space. Her silent steps were only accompanied with the soft drone of the traffic which weaved through the walls of the empty room. She paused and soaked in her surroundings. Through the dim light she could only make out the slight glisten of the pristine countertops which rested on the cold beach flooring. She drifted once more through the apartment her fingers dancing on the slick marble as she passed by and then onto the soft leather of the sofa, polished wood, sleek glass and tangled fur until her slender hand enclosed on the smooth brass doorknob. A crooked smile played in the corner of her lips.

She patiently turned her hand until the faint click of the mechanism cut through the silence of the night and let the door swing ajar of its own volition. Despite the engulfing darkness her feline eyes locked onto the sleeping figure's rising and falling chest. She crept round the bed until she could see where the mat of messy brown hair parted to reveal a supple face peeking through. Advancing further, the nimble trespasser suddenly found herself close enough to be tickled by the even breathes seeping from the figure soon to be a pawn in her game. A small flutter graced her heart as she reached out and with great care, moved a lock of hair to reveal the figures feature. Thea Queen.

Being the daughter of the famous Queen family meant that the majority of Thea's life was public knowledge. It was child's play finding her address, an easy access point, and even an accurate layout of the apartment to make reaching this point ever simpler. The reason behind this exercise was incredibly more complicated.

The sharp glimmer of a knife cut through the darkness of the room as the cruel steel crept closer to the face of the sleeping celebrity. The silhouette moved at a snail's pace with a stiff and definitive poise. The knife came so close that the cool metal almost rested upon Thea's cheek above her ear. She played with the knife in her hand, even daring to gently brush it's surface against Thea's skin, she savoured these few quiet moments and relayed in her head the pre-planned sequence of events. It would only take one swoop and she would be done. A faint almost inaudible deep breath was sucked in as the figure in the shadows prepared to be made known.

With a swift movement the knife swung cutting what seemed like thin air but resulted in a large clump of hair being left in the thief's enclosed hand. Thea let slip a cry as her sleep was abruptly ended and her wide eyes rested on the shadow in her room. In pure instinct of her training Thea kicked out her legs, still enveloped in her quilt, and knocked back the intruder into the lamp that stood across the room. The sound shattered the once peaceful apartment into a rush of chaos.

A gruff voice called out to his sister from the next room and his footsteps could be heard fast approaching. Thea, having untangled her way out of her bed now dove to the floor grasping the knife that fell in the confusion but as she looked up there was no figure to be seen.

A man, tall and made of muscle, tore into the room, "Thea!" He cried. Panic etched into every line of his face. He smacked the light switch and found his little sister crouched on the floor armed with a knife and poised to spring into attack. She gave a solid nod indicating her lack of injury and then his eyes quickly scanned the room for a threat.

Thea sprang to her feet slipping past her brother and he quickly sprinted back into the open apartment behind her. "Lights" he called and the numerous spotlights beamed into existence at his command. Thea threw down the knife in disgust at the sight, her breath still raged from the adrenaline. The room was empty and all that remained was an open window.

 **AN: So I did I story before called Blendetta but to be honest I wasn't that keen on it so this is kind of a rewrite... but with a different plot... Basically I love the name Blendetta so I wanted to use it again (which will obviously come in later).**

 **So this is more of an opener so there is not much of it. It's just a set up to test the water so review, constructive** **criticism** **welcome of course, and if you like it follow the story! I've got the next couple of chapters nearly ready so I'll post soon. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning a great debate followed, one which Oliver had won. Thea was convinced that the crime was in some way linked to his nightly activities and as a result was reluctant to involve the police but her brother took a wiser approach. Even if his sister was correct and they did not call the police then the situation would look incredibly suspicious had someone found out the events of that night. So it was decided.

Quentin Lance stood before the vigilante/mayor and sighed deeply into his morning coffee. He had intended to speak with Oliver about the sudden call for defence against metahumans in Star City, a new initiative to bring about a smaller but still capable metahuman task force than that in Central City. In the past few months a few metas had come across into the city to avoid the CCPD who were frankly more prepared to handle the threats than the Star City police department. He was not expecting to run into the SCPD at Oliver's apartment.

Lance looked up to the towering figure that was Oliver Queen and followed his line of sight over to Thea who was currently talking to a young police office scribbling away at a small notepad. She wrung her hands slightly as she talked, something the father of two daughters knew was a sign of a creeping anxiety. The small crease in Oliver's brow usually present had deepened into one of concern and he unconsciously returned the captains sigh.

The retired police detective glanced briefly at the departments CSI as he carefully extracted and examined the crime scene for any possible clue of the assailant; it looked painstaking. In fact in reflection he could not remember this CSI being employed when he was captain 'far too young', he thought. Not that Quentin doubted his skill, to picked for a case as big as an intruder in the mayor's house, the kid had to be boy fumbled with the instruments in his case and blushed under the eyes of the new Detective Inspector stood behind. Quentin felt sorry for the kid, his gut told him that there would be no evidence to find.

His gaze wandered back to Oliver and he leaned in, slightly lowering his voice. "So you have no idea who did this," His eyebrows raised slightly as his mind drifted to the hundreds of possible culprits that the arrow had faced during his time as a vigilante, "you know, apart from the entire Star City criminal ring."

Oliver pulled his eyes away from his sister and rested them on his friend, his face remained neutral. "We don't know that this has anything to do with the arrow." he paused slightly before using his alias to ensure that none of the surrounding police workers were listening in. "I am the mayor too" He smiled at the ludicrous situation he found himself in, a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Well you would hope I know that, as your assistant." He chuckled. It was then that Quentin realised that there was no good time to approach the subject of the Metahuman task force. The technicalities would have to be sorted before the press blew up the dangers of metas and scared the general public, a recurring habit of the media. What was needed was a calm statement from the mayor ensuring that the situation was under control and the rising number of advanced criminals could be handled by the authorities. Oliver had to make a statement. "Oliver-"

"I'm afraid we can't find any evidence Mr Queen," a gruff voice called as the detective came striding across the room with his CSI scuttling behind, "of course we'll look into any CCTV in the area and try and stir up a few witnesses but until then…" he awaited a understanding nod from the mayor before he continued, "we'll contact you as the case develops."

He nodded his head and they left through the apartment door. His partner, the young cop walked towards the exit more leisurely alongside Thea. He awkwardly reached out to hand her a small card with the number of the detective and his own work number. "Let us know if you remember anything else Miss Queen." He also gave a nod and followed his partner out of the door.

A moment of silence settled in the room before Quentin attempted to bring back the conversation but Oliver beat him to it. "I presume you're here about the metahuman task force?"

Over in Central City, Barry Allen sat moping into a cup of coffee in Jitters. He occupied himself by concentrating on the coffee granules that collecting at the bottom of the cup, blurring his eyes in and out of focus as he tried to make sense of the past couple of weeks. He then stared at the empty chair opposite him as he drifted into his thoughts. Without his job as a CSI he felt bored out of his mind and had been sat in the cafe for hours nursing the same drink. When he was at work almost all of his time was consumed by being 'The Flash' and Central City's top CSI, he often longed to break away from that and focus on what he loved to do most, being a hero. But now that that was a reality...

"Hey Bare."

Barry jumped at the sudden presence of someone in the seat opposite. A deep chuckle came from his foster father, Joe, who also gripped a similar cup. "Drifting?" He questioned, his smile filled with concern that was clearly evident in his deep brown eyes.

"Yeh Sorry." He returned Joe's infectious smile and rubbed his eyes stifling a yawn. Ever since the event with the Dominators sleep had evaded him. He couldn't help but feel guilty about the impact Flash point had on his friends… and family. His mind immediately snapped to Iris but he squeezed his eyes shut banishing it from his thoughts.

Joe noticed Barry rubbing away at the sleep in his eyes and was aware of the dark circles that had recently appeared beneath them. He thought back to the days when he was young and all he worried about was school assignments and not changing timelines or whatever scientific explanation was behind it. Now he barely understood the problems he was facing never mind finding a solution. 'They don't write books on being the father of the flash.' he thought bitterly. "I thought you were helping out at STAR Labs?"

Barry looked up at him a murderous expression formed on his face. "HR." He voice was deadpan and such a comical change from the Barry normally seen.

"Oh" Joe tried to stifle the laugh rising into his elongated word.

"It's not funny." His son tried to suppress his smile as his foster father broke out into a deep chuckle, but the resistance was futile and a large grin broke across his face. "You have no _idea_ what it's like!"

"I think I do!" Joe cried and before Barry could protest he put a hand up whilst he controlled his laughter. "I've been talking to Cisco the past hour and I bet you can guess what he's been moaning and moaning and _moaning_ …"

"They really don't get along." Barry laughed along with Joe until they naturally come to a comfortable silence between them. He gave a small sigh of contempt as his high spirits now bubbled inside him and briefly his looming guilt seemed distant and less potent than before. They sat for a while together both at ease in each others company and pleasant vibes channelling between them.

"Seen the news?" Joe asked, taking another sip of his coffee.

Barry frowned slightly waiting and there was a small flutter in his stomach as he considered the next catastrophe that might be occurring somewhere in the world. But seeing Joe's face he relaxed again.

"Your buddy Oliver is creating a metahuman task force in SCPD. He says that there is a lot of metas going into the city to escape our task force, that true?"

Barry creased his brow slightly in confusion. "Oliver didn't mention it to me." In reflection Oliver hadn't talked much at all about his issues when they sat in the bar together. Neither of them had really talked about their secret identities in the slightest, it was more like a catch up between friends. Maybe they should have talked more about it. Barry made a mental note to call Oliver later.

Suddenly both Barry and Joe's phone buzzed and they quickly took the calls. The captain had called Joe and for Barry, Cisco was waiting on the other end. There was a problem at Iron Heights. They both hung up simultaneously and Barry turned to Joe. "Gotta run" he smirked.

Barry skidded to a halt. Cisco directed him to the West wing of the prison. The metahuman Wing. He walked cautiously down the corridor the blaring red siren creating dark shadows in the room. His feet crunched on glass that looked to have been smashed from the overhead lights. Clearly someone was taking them out but for what purpose he was unsure. He chastised himself for once again running into a situation blind despite the numerous pieces of advice from Oliver and the many experiences that proved Oliver right. He was being careless.

He tried to assess his situation as best he could. Though the corner of his eyes the shadows that dipped in and out of the fluctuating red light seemed to follow him and he felt as if they were ready to pounce. The shapes casted by these shifts in light played havoc with his mind and he found himself struggling to make sense of his surroundings. "Guys," he whispered putting a hand to his comms "this is really creepy."

"You're telling me."

He whirled around to face the familiar voice and couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. "Thea?" His heart thudding in his ears and his initial response was to close the distance and protect her from whatever threat loomed from round the corner. But he froze.

She was dressed in a smart shirt and black skinny jeans, an outfit similar to those she wore in Oliver's press releases. Her choppy hair bobbed on her shoulders as she calmly walked towards him. Everything about her was the same; except her smile. She grinned like a cat stalking it's prey, her eyes glistening in the red light. Her voice was callous, "Flash."

Definitely not Thea.

They stared at one another which, to Barry at least, seemed to last a few solid minutes while he tried to make sense of the situation. A look which Barry interpreted as smugness tickled Thea's face which was clearly at the expense of his confusion. Before he even had time to take any form of action, let alone try and reason with her, she lurched from her stationary position and, mid-step, immersed into a dense cloud of green fog. For a millisecond he thought of Mist, a metahuman they took down near the beginning of Barry's life as the flash, and he couldn't help but notice the similarities but then his mind snapped back to attention. Barry's eyes darted around the corridor as he noticed the thick fog was beginning to increase in size. He would blink and the substance would double. Blink. Triple. He stood in the only remaining space where the gas hadn't yet reached, his back pressed hard against the wall, his mind raced with solutions and yet he was somehow incapable of taking action, of doing what he did best. He merely had time to question his lack of drive to reach a resolve when he noticed the fog had moved substantially more in his direction, it dominated the corridors as Barry felt his heartbeat increase considerably in speed. The cloud began latching onto his body and no attempts to scrape at the walls, to try and escape, seemed to be working. Barry pushed his head back as far as possible, holding his breath, turning his face as far away from the cloud as he could, it's luminous green suggesting that whatever it was, it was most definitely harmful. Despite any effort he made to escape its grasp it eventually found his air ways, muffling his screams and clogging up any attempts by oxygen to ensure his survival.

Tendrils of smoke dove straight down into his lungs pressing into every corner, ripping into every organ, filling his very being with such force that he felt he was about to burst. He could feel the cloud tearing under his skin and yet he was too weak to run, to weak to do anything. The remaining gas spiralled around his vision and his eyes streamed as he struggled to fight away the black dots that began to collect and block his view. He was unable to make sense of anything, his perception of his surroundings had changed to blurred colours and all he could make sense of was the intrusive green of the gas that threatened his life. Barry collapsed to his knees, gasping wildly for the chance of air but the attack was relentless. He could hear Cisco calling to him desperately in his ear but it seemed detached. He was slipping into unconsciousness when suddenly the attack lessened and through bleary eyes he saw Thea gasping and leaning against the wall. But he still couldn't breathe.

 **AN: Okay so chapter 2... Poor Barry!**

 **I actually love HR he's a great addition to the team (In my opinion) and I hope he stays a bit longer than the other Wells. So any way if you like it: follow, favourite and review, or you know just one of them. I welcome all comments that can help me better the story and I can't wait to write more!**


	3. Chapter 3

Summoning what little strength he had Barry collapsed through the doors of STAR Labs choking and wheezing. He somehow managed to croak the word "mist" before he sprawled out onto the floor, rolling onto his back, and positioning himself in such a way that oxygen could quickly enter his lungs. His full concentration was on his breathing. He ignored his usual fast paced nature and turned each breath into a rhythmic pattern. He felt safe with the knowledge that Caitlin and Cisco were dealing with the rest, they had saved him before and they could do it again. As his metabolism fought off the poisonous gas still pulsing through his lungs, he managed to push himself onto his knees.

He was vaguely aware of a firm and constant pressure on his arm stabilising him and after a few hopeless seconds of attempting to blink away the blurred chaos in his vision, he resigned to just accepting the anonymous help.

Iris could not escape the panic she herself felt when she saw Barry gasping for air and it took so much of her attention she forgot about the phone she was still holding to her face. There was a fraction of a second when no one moved. The room of Caitlin, Cisco, HR, Wally and Iris just watched in horror as their friend (and boyfriend in her case) collapsed onto the cold unforgiving floor. Then it was as if time restarted and everyone moved at once.

Iris called out to him as she flung the phone onto the side without a second glance and lunged over to where he fell. Caitlin called out to Cisco who dashed into one of the neighbouring labs to the central hub before she herself reached Barry giving him soft words of comfort. HR instinctively took a step backwards to give them room, completely at a lose at how he could help. In a flash of light Wally appeared next to Barry holding him stable as he struggled to his feet.

"What's wrong with him?" Iris demanded drawing Caitlin's attention from a fumbling Barry Allen as they lead him over to one of the chairs.

"It's fine, this has happened before." Caitlin babbled her fingers slipping onto his neck and a sigh of relief drifting from her lips. "He's in a better condition than last time."

They guided him to a chair and he looked up groggily at Irish West, the woman he had loved for as long as he could remember and his vision suddenly focused on her furrowed brow. He mirrored the expression and forced words out between his strangled wheezes. "I'm….fine….." A goofy smile covered his face and he squeezed her hand (which he hadn't realised he was holding until that moment).

Iris could do nothing but roll her eyes as a small smile crept into her still worried expression. She leaned in so she was mere centimeters from his face and whispered "liar" before planting a small kiss on his nose.

There were a few seconds of tense silence.

Suddenly they were aware of pounding footsteps running up the corridor followed by a loud: "I've got it!" echoing it's way into the main hall and Cisco appeared, sweat dripping from his brow, and small syringe that he was holding triumphantly into the air. He crossed the room with great speed and the needle was swiped from his hand the instant he was within range.

Caitlin administered the antidote and suddenly clear improvements were seen in the hero's breathing pattern as he began inhaling large amounts of oxygen taking into his raw lungs. Iris rubbed small circles on his back as she felt herself relax now that the danger had passed. Her once fiery veins, pumped with adrenaline, cooled into her heart's new contempt beat and she felt his back relax under her calming touch.

"I'm fine." he repeated, the same goofy smile still etched across his face, but this time she reciprocated and mirrored his unwavered expression. Now he was telling the truth.

As silence settled in the room they could hear the faint rantings of the voice on Iris' phone. The group of four then snapped their attention to HR who was now stood across the room holding the compact at a distance from his ear.

In a brief break of the onslaught, he bought the device back to his ear. "No everything is fine now." he assured to the voice. He strode over and held the phone back to Iris. "I think…" paused so that the abuse could be heard once more in the silence, "she is bit distressed." Iris took the phone and HR bowed lightly. He then left the room slapping Barry on the back as he did so.

Iris looked to the quizzical eyes around her and answered the question she knew was coming. "It's Felicity." she stated as the flurry of incoherent words still poured from the phone.

Barry's eyes widened as he looked at the phone as if his memory of the attack washed over him. "I need to talk to her."

It was a reasonably good day for Oliver Queen. Despite the incident late in the night the day itself had gone well. The sun shone over the city, blindingly bright as it bounced and ricocheted off the towering skyscrapers so that the street seemed to almost glitter. Oliver thought back to his press release. It was incredibly successful for such a pressing topic and he felt he answered questions calmly, evenly and, most importantly, truthfully.

A meta human task force was needed. It was fact. A fact that has been avoided ever since metas came under the public eye over a year ago now. The problem wasn't that they were over run, it was that they were under prepared for an inevitable attack from some sort of super powered villain.

People were scared and they needed to be reassured.

Oliver was so embedded in his thoughts he almost walked past the office, home to his arrow cave (as Cisco called it), a name which had the infuriating tendency to not only be widely used by team arrow but that also undermines the seriousness of their operation. He rolled his eyes at the thought; it was a lighthearted annoyance. After all, today was a good day.

Which is why his tickling annoyance sparked into a niggling frustration at the sight of Barry Allen sat amongst the computers in his base.

It wasn't that he disliked Barry or his occasional visits but more often than not they resulted in some tragedy that needed seeing to. Clearly the speedster was much more inclined to ask for help than the stubborn archer. Oliver's frustration deepened at his young friend's expression, a deep frown that locked him away into his thoughts as he swivelled lightly on the chair at one of the desks. He was clearly troubled.

It also dawned on Oliver that he was in civilian clothes and not his leather onesie, he scanned the room for team arrow's new recruits but they were nowhere to be seen.

"I sent them home." Felicity called from over to his left, tottering over to where Barry was sat with two steaming mugs of some hot liquid, he presumed coffee. Barry, woken from his trance by the sound of his friend's voice glanced quickly at Oliver before accepting the mug with a nod of thanks. Felicity smiled and continued, her voice animated as always. "I told them they deserved the week off after, you know, the Invasion." She took a sip from her mug and looked between the two heroes.

Barry took this as a cue and hastily clanked his mug onto the side and sprung to his feet. He took a step towards Oliver who was still stood by the elevator as if eyeing up the exit. "Oliver….."

At the opening word he knew it was trouble. In Barry's hesitation he sighed. "What could it be now? The zombie apocalypse?" His voice was in jest but there was a sharp edge that was impossible to ignore. After Felicity and Barry shared a look he veered from the mocking approach. "What do you need?"

"Um, actually I'm just here to help." Barry offered taking a hesitant step forward. "Felicity told me about the break-in" before Oliver could protest Barry closed the distance and held up his hands to stop him. "We've made a…. development in the case." Felicity took another sip of her coffee avoiding eye contact.

"A development?" He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms across his chest. "What kind of a development?" He questioned waiting for the inevitable.

"Thea broke into Iron Heights." Felicity broke in, attempting the 'rip off the band aid' approach. Barry shot her an exasperated look over his shoulder to which she could only shrug.

"What?" The danger in Oliver's low voice was enough to give both of them palpitations. It was filled with a serenity similar to a calm before a storm that warned all in close proximity to duck and take cover. The two of them couldn't step in fast enough.

"She didn't actually break into Iron Heights," Barry babbled, "well at least we don't think she did-"

Felicity interjected "It's some kind of meta who can change to look like someone-"

"Maybe, or it could be some kind of visible projection-"

"Or even a mental projection-"

"You mean like some kind of hallucination? That would explain why the meta looked like someone I knew-"

"But it doesn't explain the break in"

"Unrelated?" Barry shrugged.

Felicity paused as she considered this. She had walked over to Barry during the debate and they both now faced each other, excitement in every crevice of their faces. This always seemed to happen whenever a metahuman was mentioned. In fact they were so caught up in each other's theories and explanations that they were completely oblivious to the explanation they themselves were supposed to be giving.

"Stop, stop." Oliver massaged his brow pulling the two scientists from their debate. "So there is a metahuman." His monotonous voice gave a subtle warning incase either of them decided to give more than a one syllable answer.

"Yes" stated to Felicity followed by an almost synchronised 'Yeah' from Barry. They both looked quite sheepish.

"Powers?"

Barry stepped forward as if being summoned. "We are not quite sure about the extent of them or what causes them," at this Oliver raised his eyebrows "but abilities we know of are, looking like other people and generating poisonous gas like Mist." He got a small slap across the arm and an stern look from Felicity at the last part and to Oliver's questioning look he replied. "I'm fine."

Oliver took as small moment before he came to realisation. If someone looked at a security tape or even saw Thea whilst she was there then she could be blamed for the break in. There must be a tonne of witnesses there who saw her, who saw her use powers, who think she is a metahuman. He thought frantically of where she was during the time of the crime only to realise he knew nothing about what had happened, never mind when.

As if reading his mind Barry interjected. "Joe is talking to the captain back in CCPD, so Thea should be safe. Plus it's hard to convict someone who was on Live News a hundred miles away from the crime scene ten minutes before it was committed." He smiled and only then did Oliver slightly relax. Barry was a drama queen, if he was smiling then it was all under control.

"Well I just thought you should know." Barry pushed off the desk he was leaning on and clasped his hands before him. "I'll let you know how it goes." He smiled and hugged Felicity goodbye and she gave him stern words of warning as she always did when they departed.

Oliver just stood there dumbstruck. "Wait what?"

Barry's mischievous grin engulfed his face. "Well I was under the impression that whenever I asked for help we ended up 'up the creek' so I thought we'd just handle this on our own down at Star Labs." He took a step closer to the scowling vigilante crossing his arms in triumph.

"I knew you weren't going to let that go." Oliver laughed pointing loosely towards him."I'm coming with you." Oliver attempted to create a serious and threatening glare but failed. Barry's laughter joined Oliver's and an onlooking Felicity could only roll her eyes as the pair of heroes, a smile beaming from ear to ear.

Barry smirked and began to swagger away from his friends. "Well I guess I'll see you over there." There was a flash of yellow light that flooded the space where Barry Allen was once stood and a sharp gust of wind whipped through the small wisps of hair along Felicity's hair line as she smiled warmly into what was now an empty space.

She could still hear Oliver's laughter. "Well I guess I'll go pack then." He chuckled raising an eyebrow to his tech wizard and with that he went back the way he came only a few moments ago.

Packing was a loose term. When entering the flat he turned straight towards his bedroom and pulled the duffle bag from under his double bed. He pulled out the remnants from his last trip, jacket, a watch and a few coins scattered in the bottom, but then his hand clasped onto something small and made of plastic. His brow furrowed in confusion as he maneuvered the odd shape out of the zipped pocket.

It was a cold gun from the action figure. William had given it to him when they had first met in Central City. Catching him unawares a smile slipped into his expression as he reminisced about their time together. Though his eyes remained sad. He knew it was the right decision to send away his only son, though it hurt him to admit it. With new age threats such as Damian Dark William just wasn't safe even by pure association with his father as the Green Arrow or even now as the mayor. He played with the gun between his thumb and forefinger and was so lost in thought he didn't her someone approaching from behind.

"Ollie?" Thea stepped tentatively into his dark room. He was sat cross legged with his empty bag in front of him, his head bent downwards into his lap. For a moment she thought something was very wrong but she was greeted with a warm smile. Her shoulders dropped releasing all the worries that had subconsciously made them tense.

He suddenly sprung to his feet and strode over to his drawers. She watched him curiously as he packed all his necessities into his bag and only broke out of her trance once he'd flung open the wardrobe and was picking clothes to take. "Where are you going?" She asked cocking her head slightly to one side.

"Just popping over to Central City to help Barry with a new meta." his voice came out muffled as his head remained embedded in his wardrobe. Finally he emerged with a pile of clothes that were all then laid strategically in his duffle. He noticed Thea role her eyes. "This meta you've met." He added quickly drawing her interest back to the conversation.

She took a step towards him crossing her arms crossing her chest and shooting her eyebrows through the roof. She sent him a pointed look, a sign that she was interested and he should continue with his explanation. As siblings they had developed the skill to talk without the need for words at all.

"The break in" Oliver prompted zipping up his now filled bag. He slung it over his shoulder and moved passed Thea who parted for him to pass. He collected the last through items he needed from the bathroom and as he walked back into the vast space of their living room he heard the small scuffle of his little sister's case being yanked out from under her bed.

He knew at that moment she was haphazardly throwing clothes and any other items she needed into her case and that she'd be obstinate she was coming along. He wondered why she ever retired, she always seemed to fall back to old habits.

He lowered his now completed bag and left it by the door for the morning. He didn't realise how late it was. Oliver knew he would need the sleep to be able to deal with another crazy visit to Central City.

Barry hadn't travelled to Central City with team Arrow mainly because he didn't see the point. He felt like he needed the run anyway to clear his head. Oliver, Felicity, Dig and Thea (who insisted she was coming) would be having a good night's sleep before taking the train first thing in the morning. But Barry didn't have that luxury, sleep that is.

He knew it was getting to a ridiculous point but he couldn't seem to help it. When he lay in bed at night next to the woman he loved he couldn't stop the anxiety that choked him at the thought of her future. He thought of the changed name from the future article. He tried to convince himself that she just didn't remain a journalist in the future but there was always that niggling voice in the back of his head telling him it was something worse. Something he had caused.

He was so deep in thought that he over shot Central City and found himself in the middle of a field of corn that must have been just outside the city's borders. He sighed deeply to himself again. It dawned on him then that if he wasn't able to focus then he'd keep making mistakes and people were going to get hurt, especially as now he was fighting alongside team Arrow. He couldn't let his mistakes put anyone else in danger.

He ran home and attempted to get some sleep.

 **AN: So chapter 3 is up, I apologise for any technical difficulties. I really love writing this story its great fun, and I can't wait for what's to come...**

 **So please follow, favourite review and thanks to anyone who has done so already constructive criticism welcome :)**


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